Interactive Dreaming
by babygray
Summary: Fred and George get Harry to help them try out a new prototype: a way for people share and interact with memories and dreams. Most of the kinks have been worked out; the taste, however, still needs work. (Snarry, takes place during OotP, Sirius and James guest star)


_Notes_ : I had been staring at a drawing on twitter (akbtzz/status/822027641423208448) for weeks now, trying to figure out a way for all three of them to travel back in time. Then one night, after eating way too much Indian food, causing my body to divert all the blood from my brain to my overstuffed stomach, I had an idea.

* * *

Harry wandered down the corridors one Saturday afternoon, dressed for the weather but with no particular place to be. Cold drafts hissed through the gaps in the stone and tiny specks of snow fluttered past the windows, teasing the students inside with the possibilities of proper snow. He absently thought of visiting Hedwig up in the owlery or stomping through the grounds to see Hagrid when he felt someone rush up beside him.

"Harry, old chum!" Fred Weasley said, linking his arm around Harry's right arm.

"Whiling away the afternoon?" George Weasley said, linking his arm around Harry's left.

"With nothing to do?" they said in unison.

"Um," Harry managed as the twins led him, arm in arm in arm, towards the stairs.

"We're actually really glad we found you," Fred said. A few younger students gave them odd looks as they headed up the stairs.

"We were in the middle of a brainstorming session," George said," Thinking about who would be the best person to help us with a small experiment-"

"Very small. Hardly worthy of being called an experiment."

"—When we thought, who better than our silent partner to help us out."

They spotted Dolores Umbridge at the top of the stairs, bundled up for the cold in fuzzy pink velvet. They ducked out of view. "Guess the Room is out," George said.

"There's always the long way," Fred said.

As they turned the corner on the fifth floor, however, there was Snape, indadvertedly blocking their path. Snape glanced over his shoulder, making eye contact with Harry.

"We'll just have to make do," Fred said, looking about before pulling them into a small room. Old Arithmancy posters hung on the walls between the high, narrow windows. A handful of plush, well-used chairs clustered around a low table. George checked around the furniture before Fred placed charms on the door.

"An experiment?" Harry asked as Fred nudged him into one of the chairs. "Don't you usually ask one of the first years to help you?"

"Well, this is a delicate prototype-" Fred said.

"Much too delicate," George said, plopping into a seat, "to entrust with an ickle firstie."

"At least, not yet."

Harry frowned at them.

"He obviously needs convincing," Fred said as he sat on the low table. His knees brushed against Harry's. "George and I were working a few things-"

"Merchandise for the store," George said.

"All very hush-hush," Fred said, "until we can get it to work properly, that is, when we stumbled onto something really…" He glanced over at his brother.

"Delicate?" Harry said, filling in the blank.

"Interesting," George said. "A way for people to share memories."

"Imagine it," Fred said. "You can invite your friends, or your special someone," he winked, "into your mind and dream together!"

"Interact with your memories," George said.

"With tremendous skill-"

"And a few borrowed potions ingredients-"

"We've created the means to make this possible."

Harry stared at them. He thought of his disastrous Occlumency lessons with Snape, of Voldemort constantly lurking in the back of his mind. He didn't like the idea of more people looking into his thoughts. "That sounds like a terrible idea."

Fred scoffed. "Now you're sounding like Hermione."

"We've already tested it on ourselves," George said. "Worked most of the kinks out."

"Apart from the bad aftertaste," Fred said.

"But Fred's and my memories are too similar," George said.

"The curse of having a twin," Fred said.

"And we're not sure if we're really in one mind or the other."

Fred pulled out a box from his robes. Bits of colorful paper still stuck to the side from where the Honeydukes logo had been torn off. Inside were rough, roundish bits of yellow-green taffy as large as a Snitch. "We each take one, nap for thirty minutes or so, and wake up from our shared dream happy and refreshed."

"Well, happy, hopefully," George said. "We're still working on the refreshed part."

Harry eyed the candy with a bit of hesitation before taking one. "Thirty minutes?"

Fred grinned and snatched one of the pieces before passing the box to George. "Maybe more, maybe less," he said, moving to one of the chairs.

"We've been having a bit of trouble timing it," George said, taking a piece for himself before pocketing the box.

Fred stretched out in his chair and rested his feet on the table. "Gentlemen!" he said, popping the taffy into his mouth. George followed suit, chewing on his piece before swallowing and making a gagging face.

Harry rolled his piece between his finger and thumb before joining them. The taffy squirted thick juice into his mouth as he bit into it. He choked and coughed as the taste hit the back of his throat.

"Delicious, isn't it," George said, slouching into his chair.

"Like mother's milk," Fred said, his head lolling to the side.

"More like rotten fruit." Harry swallowed, trying to get rid of the taste, as a heavy sleepiness settled over him. "Works fast," he said.

But Fred was already out like a light, and George was no better, his eyelids fluttering as the magic in the candy dragged him down into sleep.

The door banged open and Snape strolled in, his black robes billowing around him. Harry felt a giggle form in the back of his throat—delirium from the sudden sleep overtaking him—and closed his eyes.

* * *

Harry touched his scar and tugged the hem of his sweater, taking a moment to reorient himself. He could feel someone's hand ghost over his chin, but he was alone in the corridor. Outside, the sky was a thin, bright blue and the grounds were spring-green.

"Harry!" the twins shouted as they tackled him from behind, Fred wrapping his arm around Harry's neck while George took hold of his waist.

"Isn't this brilliant!" George said.

"A meeting of minds," Fred said almost sagely.

"It's Hogwarts," Harry said.

"It's _dream_ Hogwarts," Fred said, shaking Harry. "And with a bit of imagination, it can be more."

"Harry," George said, staring at the tie around Harry's neck. "Did you know you're dressed like a Slytherin?"

Fred pulled away and got a good look at Harry. "Harry," he said. "Since when did you want to be a Slytherin?"

Harry's face grew hot. "I don't want to be a Slytherin," he said.

The twins grinned. "Well," Fred said, adjusting Harry's tie. "If you say so."

"If it makes you happy, we support you," George said, smoothing the wrinkles of Harry's sweater.

"Embrace your inner sneaky git," Fred said, grabbing Harry's shoulders and giving them a shake.

In a breath, the scene around them changed. Instead of standing in a corridor, they were standing by a cluster of trees at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, looking out at the grounds. In the distance were other students, playing on the grass and basking in the warm spring sunlight. Harry didn't recognize anyone.

No, he corrected himself. He did recognize a few people. Even at this distance, he could make out his father and Sirius, tossing something between them as Remus sat nearby, reading. He glanced about in search of his mother, hoping to catch the red of her hair.

"This isn't one of our memories," Fred said, looking at a boy with his dark hair fluffed out into a halo of curls.

"I don't think this is one of Harry's memories, either," George said, staring at a girl with her flaxen hair feathered away from her face.

"It's one of mine," a low voice said behind them, soft and almost in awe.

They turned in unison, reaching for wands that were not there. "Professor Snape!" the twins cried out as Snape stepped out into the sunlight. He looked young, probably no older than Harry was now, with his Slytherin tie straight and his school robes billowing in the warm breeze.

"Potter," Snape said, eyeing Harry's clothes. "Green does not suit you."

"How are you here?" Harry said without thinking, his face still hot. "Did you—" He stopped himself before asking if Snape had used Occlumency to enter his mind.

Snape's eyebrow rose. "You dunderheads are usually more discreet when enacting your idiotic plans," he said, looking at Fred and George in turn before focusing on Harry. "Although this, taking an unstable dream walking potion without a focal point or a escape route, just might be the most idiotic thing you have ever done."

"How do you…" George started. Snape stared at him. "Right. Potions Master."

"You've been unconscious for over an hour," Snape said. "Who knows how long the three of you would have been trapped in your minds if I hadn't intervened. And now it's time to—"

"Well, if it isn't Snivellus," someone shouted over the grounds. Snape stiffened, his face growing pale.

Sirius Black, young, ruddy and full-cheeked, swaggered up to them, James Potter falling in step beside him. "Crawling out into the sunlight, Snivellus?" Sirius said. He looked Harry over with a sneer on his face. "Who's this, your boyfriend?"

"Merlin, Snivellus," James said. "I know you're obsessed with me, but this is ridiculous."

Harry's face burned.

"What the hell is going on?" Snape said out of the side of his mouth.

"They're _your_ memories, Professor," George said.

Fred placed his hand on Harry's head and gave Sirius and James his biggest smile. "Hi, figments of Professor Snape's imagination," he said.

"Who are you calling a figment," Sirius said.

James drew his wand, aimed it straight at Harry, and froze, a snide comment left unspoken on his curled lips.

Snape glared at James and Sirius, his own mouth pulled into a sneer. His jaw clenched from the effort of forcing these projections to stop. "Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted," he through clenched teeth said, "it's time for you dunderheads to wake up."

* * *

Severus's mind led them down to the dungeons and into the Slytherin common room. The twins stared in awe at the green tapestries and the carved snake over the fireplace. "It looks exactly like I imagined it to look," George said.

"Of all the places we've never managed to sneak into," Fred breathed as the Giant Squid floated by the windows.

Snape sneered but said nothing. In a blink of an eye, they found themselves in front of a door leading to the boys' dorms. "Who took the potion first?"

"I did," Fred said, stepping forward.

"We have to leave in order?" George said.

"The fact that you did not know this only reinforces my opinion of your common sense," Snape said. "Or lack thereof." He pointed at Fred. "Open the door and walk through to wake up."

"This is the way out?" Harry said. "Why is it down here in the dungeons?"

"Why are you wearing a Slytherin uniform?" Snape countered. He jerked his head towards the door, silently ordering Fred to open it.

Fred shared a look with his brother before flashing Harry and Snape a grin. "Such obliging hosts," he said before opening the door and blinking out of sight.

"We should do it again some time," George said as he followed his brother out.

Harry reached for the door handle. He looked at Snape from over his shoulder. The professor still looked tense and angry, but Harry reasoned, Snape always looked that way.

Harry opened the door and stared at the sparsely-decorated room. Teaching robes hung from a hook by the window. A fire roared in the fireplace set into the wall to Harry's left. In the center of the room, draped with dark green and black sheets, was a large, canopied bed. A languid, half-dressed Severus Snape, pale, long-limbed, and older, rose from the bed and slumped against a bedpost. "Harry," he said, voice rough with sleep and eyes dark and inviting.

Harry pulled the door shut.

Snape glared at him. "You're still here."

Harry's heart was pounding. "I don't think this is my exit."

"What are you talking about? Of course it's your exit. That is the way out," Snape said.

Harry shook his head. His hands felt clammy and cold.

"Potter," Snape said, his voice growing suspiciously soft. "What did you see in there?"

Harry looked up at Snape's young face. His own face felt like it was on fire as it burned with embarrassment and guilt.

"Harry," Snape tried again, taking a step closer. "Why are you in a Slytherin uniform?"

Later, after thinking and rethinking his actions, Harry would try to reason with his memories. He would consider and half-believe that he was in Slytherin green because of Voldemort, that it was his connection with the Dark Lord that caused it. Or maybe it was that spark the Sorting Hat saw in Harry years ago, buried deep in his subconscious, that was the cause.

But that would be hours later, when Harry was tucked in his bed, unable to sleep, the memory of a sleep-soft, beckoning Snape overwhelming him and making it _extremely_ difficult to clear his thoughts.

"I don't know," Harry said, staring into Snape's black eyes.

"What did you see in the room?" Snape whispered, the air between them growing hotter. He drew closer.

Harry shook his head, unable to look away.

"Show me," Snape said.

At fifteen, Severus Snape was not much taller than Harry. Harry barely tilted his chin up before his lips brushed against Snape's. Snape gasped in a breath before drawing Harry flush against him. Harry kissed him, hard and fast, as he felt something jerk him awake.

* * *

Harry tumbled out of his chair and onto the floor. Fred and George, still groggy from the experience, blinked and gave Harry sleepy grins. Snape slept on in the chair next to Harry's, his arms crossed and his chin tucked against his chest. A bit of red colored the professor's cheeks as he woke.

Snape straightened, shook off the effects, and glared at each of the boys in turn. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for complete disregard for proper magical safety."

The twins grinned at each other, pleased with the relatively lenient point reduction.

"Each," Snape added, wiping the grins off Fred and George's faces. He stared at Harry, his face as blank as stone even as the red in his cheeks burned brighter, before rising to his feet, large nose high. "And I will be confiscating this," he said, pulling out the box with the torn-off label from some hidden pocket on his person before tucking it away.

With a swish of his robes, he strode out of the room, nearly crashing into Dolores Umbridge as the door closed shut behind him.

Fred wasted no time in locking the door. "Our prototype," he said, slumping into his seat.

"Do you think she saw us?" Harry whispered.

George shrugged before pointedly staring at Harry. "What the hell happened in there after we woke up, Harry?" he said.

Harry froze. "What?"

"The two of you woke up blushing," Fred said.

"No, we didn't," Harry said much too quickly, his cheeks still burning.

The twins' grins only grew wider. "You do know that you can trust us, Harry," Fred said, sitting down on the floor beside Harry. He threw an arm over Harry's shoulders.

"We're the very souls of discretion," George said. He threw his arm over Harry's shoulders as well.

"But we are going to tease you mercilessly for this."

"And we usually don't warn people before we do, but we like you."

Harry's face was very much on fire at this point. He covered his face with his hands. As soon as he was out of this room, he was throwing himself into the Lake.

"Embrace your inner sneaky git," George said, poking at Harry's burning ears. Fred laughed good-naturedly as they sat on the floor, arm in arm in arm, for a little while longer.


End file.
